A firefighter tries to put out a fire as Turkish army busses burn after an explosion on February 17, 2016 in Ankara, Turkey.
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The explosion comes a day after a auto bomb attack in the Turkish capital of Ankara killed 28 people and injured a further 61 people. Police told The Associated Press they are investigating the cause of the explosion.It was not clear who was behind the bombing Wednesday. The suspect was identified as Salih Necar and was believed to have entered Turkey along with Syrian refugees.
The rapid advance of US-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, taking advantage of Russian air strikes to seize territory near the Turkish border, has infuriated Ankara and threatened to drive a wedge between North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies.
A senior security source said initial signs indicated that Kurdish militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were responsible. He reportedly dismissed Turkey’s allegations and noted that the blast bears resemblance to attacks by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS.
Davutoglu said the Syrian man was a member of the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish rebel group.
The auto bomb targeted a convoy of military buses in the Turkish capital, just a few hundred meters from parliament and military headquarters.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday that 14 people were detained in connection to Wednesday’s Ankara blast that claimed lives of 28 people, Reuters reported.
Kurdish rebels, the Islamic State group and a leftist extremist group have carried out attacks in the country recently.In October, suicide bombings blamed on IS targeted a peace rally outside the main train station in Ankara, killing 102 people in Turkey’s deadliest attack in years.
Davutoglu said Syria’s government, which he accused of backing Syrian Kurdish militias, is also to blame.
The co-leader of the PKK umbrella group, Cemil Bayik, said he did not know who was responsible but the attack could be a response to “massacres” in Turkey’s Kurdish-populated regions.
The PKK took up arms for the cause and has carried out attacks similar to the Ankara one in the past.
A cease-fire between Turkey and the PKK collapsed in July. Turkey is bombing PYD-controlled areas of Syria near the Turkish border, and it could follow with a ground incursion.
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“Turkey is very upset with the gains of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the YPG/YPJ”. The claim couldn’t be verified.
